Payroll Settings & Configuration

Before running your first payroll, you need to configure a few key settings. These determine how often your team gets paid, in what currency, and who needs to approve each payroll run.

Getting There

1. Open Payments > Payouts to reach the Payroll dashboard.
2. Click the Settings button (top right). You can also go directly to /employer/payroll/settings.
3. You will see sections for Pay Schedule, Currency, and Approval.

info

If this is your first time setting up payroll, you must complete these settings before you can create your first payroll run.

Pay Schedule

The Pay Schedule section lets you configure your pay frequency and the specific day employees get paid.

Pay Frequency

Choose how often you want to run payroll for your team. New configurations default to Monthly.

Frequency	Description	Best For
Weekly	Every week on a fixed day	Hourly workers, short-term contracts
Bi-weekly	Every two weeks on a fixed day	Common in the US and Canada
Semi-monthly	Twice per month (e.g., 1st and 15th)	Salaried employees with mid-month advances
Monthly	Once per month on a fixed day	Standard for salaried teams; used for India EOR

tip

For India EOR, payroll runs on a monthly cycle. Choose Monthly unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise.

Pay Day Configuration

The pay day fields change depending on your selected frequency:

• Weekly / Bi-weekly: Choose a day of the week (Sunday through Saturday). Defaults to Friday.
• Monthly: Choose a day of the month (1st through 28th). Defaults to the 1st.
• Semi-monthly: Choose two days of the month -- a First Pay Day (defaults to the 1st) and a Second Pay Day (defaults to the 15th).

warning

Pay day options are limited to the 1st through 28th of the month to avoid issues with months that have fewer than 31 days. If your chosen pay day falls on a weekend or bank holiday, salaries are disbursed on the preceding business day.

Changing Pay Frequency

You can change your pay frequency at any time, but the change only takes effect for future payroll runs. Any payroll runs already in progress will use the frequency that was active when they were created.

Currency

Set the default currency for payroll calculations. The currency you select here is used as the default when creating new payroll runs and adding new employees.

The currency dropdown is populated from the currencies your account supports, so the exact list depends on your account configuration.

Changing the Default Currency

1. In the Currency section, select your preferred currency from the Default Currency dropdown.
2. Click Save Settings.

info

Employees can still be paid in their preferred currency regardless of your default setting. The default currency simply pre-fills the currency field when creating new payroll runs.

Approval Settings

Control whether payroll runs require manual approval before processing.

Require Approval

Toggle the Require approval before processing checkbox. It is checked (on) by default.

• On (recommended): Payroll runs move to "Pending Approval" status after creation. An authorized approver must review and approve before payment processing begins.
• Off: Payroll runs skip the approval step and move directly to payment processing after creation.

warning

Disabling approval means payroll runs are processed as soon as they are created. This is convenient for small teams but removes the safety net of a second pair of eyes on salary amounts.

Selecting Approvers

When approval is enabled, you can designate specific team members as approvers:

1. Check the Require approval before processing box.
2. A list of eligible team members appears below.
3. Select one or more team members by checking the box next to their name.
4. Only users with Owner, Admin, or Admin Employee roles in your workspace appear as options.

Each approver is shown with their name, email, and role for easy identification.

tip

If no specific approvers are selected, all team members with Admin or Owner roles can approve payroll runs by default.

Saving Your Settings

After making changes:

1. Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.
2. A green confirmation message appears when settings are saved successfully.
3. Click Cancel to discard changes and return to the Payroll dashboard.

note

Save Settings is disabled for read-only users (the tooltip reads "You have read-only access").

Changes apply to future payroll runs only. In-progress runs are not affected.

How Settings Affect Payroll Runs

Setting	Effect on Payroll Runs
Pay frequency	Determines the payroll period (e.g., March 1-31 for monthly)
Pay day	Sets the target pay date shown on each run
Currency	Sets the default currency for new payroll items
Approval required	Adds or skips the "Pending Approval" step in the payroll workflow
Approvers	Controls who sees the "Approve" button on pending payroll runs

tip

Review your payroll settings at the start of each fiscal year. Currency changes, new approvers joining the team, or shifting pay schedules are all common reasons to update.